Commercial grained, aerated confections are predominantly prepared from an ingredient system comprised of a whipping agent and crystallizable sugars. The whipping agent affords a means for aerating the confection as well as providing a temporary aerated structure for the crystallizable sugars which are ultimately and primarily responsible for its structural integrity and textural character. The ingredient system used in preparing these aerated confections places constraints upon the operable processing conditions and the type of aerated products which may be manufactured.
In general, the whipping agents which have heretofore been used to prepare these aerated confections are essentially intolerant to sterilization temperatures. The aeration, film-forming and/or gelling characteristics of such whipping agents are typically irreversibly impaired or destroyed upon exposure to elevated and heat-denaturizing processing temperatures. As a result, it is conventional to either separately aerate the stabilizer and whipping agent with or without a portion of sugar at relatively low temperatures and then combine the aerated portion with the cooled uncrystallized "bob" or alternatively mix and aerate the ingredients carefully under controlled processing temperatures. Upon cooling and aging, the sugar crystallizes to provide the supportive matrix for the grained, aerated confection.
The trade has generally recognized egg albumin as one of the most effective whipping agents for certain grained, aerated confections such as nougats. Egg albumin creates problems for the nougat manufacturer. On one hand, the nougat manufacturer relies upon a whipping agent which is highly susceptible to microbial infestation and enzymatic contamination (e.g. pathogen adulteration with microbes such as salmonella). On the other hand, the physical and chemical characteristics prevent the nougat manufacturer from processing the egg albumin under heat sterilization temperatures which would effectively alleviate microbial infestation of the finished product. As a result, the nougat manufacturer must take special quality assurance precautions against microbial infestation of the egg albumin raw material as well as during the subsequent processing thereof. For grained marshmallow confections (short, clean-breaking, non-elastic, non-resilient texture in contrast to resilient, stringy texture of ungrained marshmallow), gelation is most commonly used. The problems confronting the manufacturing of these gelatin-containing, grained marshmallow products are similar to those encountered by manufacturers who use egg albumin whipping agents. Aseptic sterilization temperature conditions (e.g., 95.degree. C. or higher for a period of time sufficient to destroy microbial infestation) cannot be effectively utilized for either of these protein whipping agents. Carefully controlled and regulated processing conditions are exercised to preserve the efficacy and quality of the aerated proteins in the manufacture of these grained, aerated confections.
The development of a specific type of sugar crystals is also an essential prerequisite to achieve a high-quality nougat or grained marshmallow confectionary product. The proportion of water to crystallizable sugars must be carefully regulated to insure proper crystal formation. An excess of water adversely results in the formation of large, gritty sugar crystals. A water deficiency fails to provide the desired short texture. The stability and aging properties of the grained, aerated confection is limited by the type of sugars which are required to impart the appropriate short texture and grained structure to the aerated confection. In general, the crystalline sugar requirements for these grained confections results in a confectionary product of limited humectant properties. This arises primarily because the required sugars are inferior humectants. As a result, the grained, aerated confection quality tends to deteriorate as it gradually loses moisture upon normal storage and aging conditions. Attempts to replace or dilute these aerated confections with less costly solid and/or liquid ingredients, without adversely affecting their quality, are not feasible because of inherent recipe constraints.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,419 by Sevall et al. discloses aerated confections comprised of whipping agent, a heat-denaturable soy protein, a water-soluble alginate and stabilizer which reacts with the whipping agent. Although Sevall et al. proposes an alternative whipping system, the overall ingredient and its processing conditions are functionally related to gelatin-containing and egg-albumin whipping systems. Similarly, Sevall et al. prepare an uncooked frappe and then conventionally combine the "cooked bob" and the frappe. The Sevall et al. aerated confection predominantly relies upon crystallized sucrose for its body and structure.
My U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,690 affords the soft candy-making art an alternative ingredient system. This system relies heavily upon a high-amylose starch for its structure and texture. The patent discloses and claims confections comprised of high-amylose starch, water and sweetening agents. Due to the functionality of the high-amylose starch, confections which are predominantly comprised of corn syrup are feasible with this recipe system. The patent examples illustrate a two-stage method involving the preparation of frappes for creme centers by separately whipping a soy protein hydrolyzate, water, corn syrup and powdered sugar into a frappe, cooling the frappe and then combining the cooled frappe with a cooled "bob" comprised of the high amylose starch and the remaining portion of the sweetening agent.